Music To My Ears
by sharmini
Summary: Pop invasion! Kevin can't get a song out of his head...and does the unthinkable.


Disclaimer:_Ben 10 :Alien Force_ is not mine. A fact that saddens me tremendously. And I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE SONG _'SHAKE IT'_ BY METRO STATION….or I would not have been inspired to write a story about it.

Note from the author:My best friend said that I have a thing for dark-haired, chiseled-jaw guys. I never thought it would apply to cartoon characters as well. Part of me gets giddy with excitement every time Ben 10: Alien Force is on air. Another part of me wonders if I need help. But I digress. I think Kevin and Gwen are the best looking cartoon couple ever. And Kevin Levin…what a guy…what a voice. This little fic came to me about a year ago, when I was reading '_Twilight'_ while listening to Metro Station. I imagined it with Bella and Edward, but before I could write it down, real life happened and the story got pushed to the back burner…until I saw Kevin and Gwen interact. Of course, while it's great that the two have not quite started dating or anything (all great TV show leads never date, think X-Files!), in this fic, they are an established couple. Hope you guys like it. And feedbacks make my day.

It began two weeks ago when Gwen won a radio/alarm clock. And every morning since then, regardless if she was on the road with Ben and Kevin, or at home, the alarm would go off with the full blare of the local radio station playing pop songs.

It grated Kevin's nerves. Gwen did not need alarm clock/ radio. He could have easily crushed the little device, but it seemed as if Gwen had developed a little bond with that thing. Kevin should have known better, it was his sort-of-gift to her when Gwen took him to a fairground one evening when there weren't any alien activity in their immediate vicinity.

Kevin, of course, had won all the games she made him play there…not that it was not enjoyable to Kevin, who had Gwen next to him, cheering and jeering. And for every game he won, she had refused all the gifts; ranging from a giant five-foot teddy bear to a food voucher at the local seafood restaurant. It was unfair advantage, Gwen told him, sounding as if Kevin had broken rules at an Olympic competition rather than throwing rubber darts at rubber duckies.

So, in the last game, they played, she devised a rule. Kevin was to hit the target, six pyramid-stacked empty soda cans, blindfolded, following only the stall keeper's instructions. Kevin scoffed and told Gwen to bring it on. Kevin listened to the stall keeper's instructions and threw as humanly as possible. It was, naturally, a bulls' eye. Prize: one radio/ alarm clock.

Looking back, Kevin realized now he should have just missed; the prize was so insignificant, compared to the milestone they have achieved. Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin had been together for three glorious weeks now and they should have celebrated with a lobster dinner, dancing at a club and moonlights walk on the pier.

Not possible, Gwen would have pointed out. She was allergic to lobster and still had a couple years to go to enter the clubs with a fake ID. Besides, she was not one for all those fancy kinds of dates, as Kevin found out, much to his relief. Him in a suit…sure, if pigs could fly high enough in a frozen Hell. Gwen would think he looked hot; but that was Gwen. She loved him totally to realize that he would actually look like a monkey or a penguin or just like a waiter from a restaurant.

(But, really, he KNEW he looked HOT in a suit. Ask Gwen.)

So, Gwen kept the insignificant, utterly stupid radio/ alarm clock…probably to remind him of the fact that he forgot to get her something meaningful.

Not every week deserves a present…at least not in Kevin's idea of a good relationship. He had planned something for their ONE month anniversary, but for now, he has to suffer through boybands and manufactured pop that he knew Gwen tuned in just to annoy him.

It was summer vacation and they were on the road once again, searching for the other Plumber kids and if possible, Grandpa Max. They were just leaving the city limits when the radio blared to life; the voice of the announcer indicating too much caffeine, too much nicotine and way too much cheer to be real. Kevin would have loved to smash the radio to bits, but Gwen had it on her side of the car, and it really would not be such a good idea to reach over her to turn it off. She was asleep, last night's exertion of fighting the Highbreeds taking its toll on her.

Kevin Levin was not that kind of guy.

So, he endured; the faux-cheerful announcer and Ben snoring from the backseat, stretched out on the seat, his sneakered feet hanging out the window. He wanted to listen to his own music; a little bit emo, stadium rock and big, big guitar riffs, but he was already developing a headache from the pop music he was being exposed, so he would end up hating his own favourite music, and he did not want that. Not that it was very successful, for pop music has a way of invading your senses that could put DNAliens to shame.

"…_I'll take you home if you don't leave me at the front door_

_You're body's cold, but girl, we're getting so warm_

_And I was thinking of ways that I could get inside_

_Tonight you're falling in love, let me go now_

_This feeling's tearing me up, here we go now…"_

So, he just tuned it off, preferring to concentrate on the road.

Ben woke up an hour later, insisting he needed a bathroom break. Kevin obliged readily, he needed the break too. He stopped at a roadside diner, and Ben nearly tripped himself running to the bathroom. Gwen went in to get something to eat, while Kevin lingered by the car. He leaned against his car, quite forgetting his own no-leaning-against-the-car (PAINTJOB, c'mon!). That was when he found himself humming to an unknown tune. When he caught himself doing it, the tune eluded him. He did not think anything about it, in fact he forgot about it when Ben and Gwen returned with the food.

Later that morning, as he was waiting for Gwen in front of her house as she picked up a couple of things, Ken Tennyson, coolest brother and cousin in the world, was proudly testing and displaying the sound system in his car. He had opened all the doors and the boot to show anyone who was remotely interested his audio system. And he was playing the very song that Kevin had heard this morning from Gwen's radio/alarm clock. Kevin winced as the bass pounded the speakers. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, turning away from the car which is no longer a car, but a monstrosity on wheels.

"…_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it_

_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it_

_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it_

_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it…"_

When Gwen found him a few moments later, she was looking at him curiously.

"What?" Kevin asked, frowning. Was there something on his face? Grease? Oil? Leftover chili fries?

Gwen stared from Kevin's feet and right to his face, a smile so radiant on her face that Kevin just wanted to swoop down and kiss her senseless right there on the road.

"You're tapping your toes!" Gwen made it sound as if he was milking a cow from Venus.

"I always do that," Kevin shrugged.

"Not to manufactured pop you don't," Gwen pointed, fully aware of Kevin's musical inclination, as she glanced in the direction of her Ken's mobile entertainment cabinet.

Kevin was surprised at Gwen's observation.

"You're not the Top 40 kind of person." Gwen was, naturally, spot on about her man.

Kevin shrugged again. "Ken's speakers are causing seismic tremors, I think. That's why you saw my feet moving!"

This comment caused Gwen to laugh and that was the sweetest music in the world for Kevin.

Later that very evening, Kevin was in Gwen's kitchen, watching her prepare dinner. Her parents were out for the evening, which meant Gwen and Kevin, after dropping off Ben at Julie's house, had the place all to themselves. And because Kevin had been nice the past few days, Gwen decided to reward him; a nice, hot, home cooked dinner. It was definitely a treat for Kevin, who managed to steal some kisses from Gwen as she chopped carrots and what nots to make him stew. She looked so delicious in that pink and white apron…

Kevin turned sharply towards the radio in the kitchen, now tuned into the local pop station; Gwen claims fluffy, bubblegum pop helps her relax and enjoy the process of cooking.

Kevin released Gwen, who was now trying to save the stew from being a complete disaster, and stared at the radio.

It was the same song that has been hounding Kevin since this morning.

"…_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it_

_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it_

_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it_

_Shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it…"_

Kevin felt like screaming. Gwen was swaying unconsciously as she stirred the salvaged stew now simmering cheerfully on the stove. She was oblivious to the pain Kevin was experiencing; the music and cheesy lyrics were killing his own good taste in music.

The song lasted another agonizing two minutes; a hundred twenty seconds of agony for Kevin's ears. But he did not even think of turning it off; Gwen liked it enough to sway to it. Even in his moment of tortured inflicted by the song Kevin knew better than to mention the swaying to Gwen later; she will deny it and then spend a few hours trying to prove him wrong by playing all her classical music collections. They did not that kind of distraction in their relationship…Kevin certainly did not. He just wanted her to concentrate on him.

All this made him forget about the song. And just when he thought he had forgotten about it….

"…_I saw you dancing and I couldn't get you off my mind_

_I could tell that you could tell that I was taking my time_

_But I was thinking of ways to get you stay the night_

_Your body's shaking, tell me off so that I can turn of the lights…"_

Kevin did the only thing he knew would get his mind off the song. He grabbed Gwen and kissed her.

Needless to say, they went out for dinner that evening, as the stew Gwen prepared congealed into something similar to Goop at the bottom of the pan.

Ben was channel-surfing on the TV in Kevin's garage two days later when a delivery van stopped outside. A guy got out, carrying a small package and headed for the garage. Ben threw the remote on the couch and went to get the package. Kevin was nowhere in sight, probably underneath a car or something.

"Delivery for Kevin Levin," the delivery guy announced, checking the folder in his hand.

"Kevin?" Ben called out once and then gave up, deciding to sign for the package himself. Ben took the pen the delivery guy gave him and was about to sign his name when there was a crash, an expletive uttered and Kevin appeared, looking very…nervous.

"That would be me," Kevin said, grabbing the pen from Ben's hand.

"Where the hell…"the delivery guy was at loss for words at the sudden appearance of Kevin.

Kevin ignored the guy, signed his name and held out his hand for the package, which the delivery guy was about to hand to Ben.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked, not used to seeing Kevin nervous.

"I think so," the delivery guy answered, one hand on his chest, just above his heart. "This dude gave me a scare, but I think I'll survive!"

"I'm sure you will," Kevin muttered, as the package came to his hand. He held on to it quite possessively. "Well," Kevin took a step back. "Yeah…" Then he was gone.

The delivery guy looked at the empty space where Kevin had stood and then at Ben.

"Weird," both Ben and the delivery guy said at the same time. The guy got back into his van and left, as Ben went back inside the garage. He looked around at Kevin, but could not find him.

Sighing, Ben slumped back unto the couch and resumed his channel-surfing.

Weirder things have known to happen and Kevin acting strange is hardly a cause for concern.

For the time being.

Maybe it's a girl thing but Gwen felt an acute need to cook for Kevin. She hoped it was a phase, but when the orange-peach cupcake came out of the oven perfect and golden, she could help the satisfaction she felt. Nor can she wait to see the look on Kevin's face when she brings them over to his garage. His smile would be worth all the trouble and the four other batches of cupcakes that had not met with the usual standard of being perfect.

She packed the cakes into a white, white cardboard box and left for Kevin's garage, imagining all the wonderful things they could do while eating cupcakes.

Ice-skating…

That would be so romantic. It hardly mattered that it was the middle of a blazing summer; not when you had cousin who could freeze a lake with his breath.

Of course, ice-skating was just the tip of the iceberg…she had to smile when she thought this; she was now starting to come up with jarringly bad jokes.

The smile remained on her face as she reached the garage. She was thankful Ben was not there; he had a date with Julie and Gwen did not bake the cupcakes for Ben and Kevin. She found the garage empty; not a single person was there.

Gwen was unperturbed. It was lunch time and maybe the other mechanics went out for a bite. She decided to wait in the office at the back of the garage.

As she neared the office, Gwen heard music. It was not loud, but she could hear it well enough from behind the slightly open door. She recognized it as the song she had heard in one of the pop stations. It was a good song, a little different from the usual beats out there. It reminded her of a glossed-over 80's track, a great song for aerobics and the likes.

This song had no place in this garage, that much she knew for sure.

Gwen neared the door, open just enough for her to peek inside.

And when she saw Kevin in the office, the box of cupcakes dropped from her hands. She could not believe her eyes.

"…_Now if she does it like this, will you do it like that?_

_Now if she touches like this, would you touch her right back?_

_Now is she moves like this, will you move her like that?_

_Come on, shake shake, shake shake, a-shake it…"_

Kevin Ethan Levin, toughest guy in town, was holding a broken gear stick as his microphone, lip-synching and dancing in front of the mirror to the tune of Metro Station's _"Shake It"._

It was not until the song ended and a cupcake rolled up near his foot that Kevin realized he had an audience. He turned and saw his girlfriend looking at him, pure horror on her face.

They managed to save seven out of ten cupcakes (one was squashed by Gwen herself when she stepped it and another two rolled under the Camaro; Kevin figured he could snack on it later if he got hungry when working underneath his car), but he wondered if he could save his girlfriend from her catatonic state.

"Gwen? Gwen? Are you all right?" Kevin was worried, as he slowly sat her down on the battered couch in the office.

It took a while, but Gwen finally did recover. "What?" She said, shaking her head, looking disorientated as she wondered where she was, until her eyes locked unto Kevin's worried ones.

"Are you all right?" Kevin asked again, his worry kicking up a notch.

A slow smile spread across Gwen's lips. "Yeah," she said, biting her lower lips in an effort to keep from laughing. Kevin felt heat across his face and was pretty sure it was not because of the broken radiator in the corner of the room.

"You saw, didn't you?" Kevin slumped back against the couch, groaning. Why the hell didn't he just wait until he got home at night? Where no one could see him? Where his room had double-locks and a few alien – tech to keep out invaders and possibly embarrassing and life-altering situations just like this?

Gwen nodded, her smile infuriating him. Stupid song. Stupid Kevin.

"You're going to tell Ben?" he asked, dropping his gaze to the floor. Right now, the best thing that can happen to him was an alien invasion on the planet. Or if that was too hard to come by, he would settle for the ground opening up and swallowing him.

"Why would I tell Ben?" Gwen asked, the smile waning a little as she frowned.

"Because…"

"Kevin Ethan Levin, you sexy beast of a man, if you think I am going to share this with my cousin, you are utterly wrong on top of being deranged!" Gwen said, a mind-numbingly gorgeous pout emphasizing her words at the end of her rant.

"But…"

"Shut up," Gwen said, a smile forming on her lips.

"Gwen, I…"

Knowing that Kevin would not voluntarily shut up, Gwen grabbed Kevin by the neck and kissed him.

"Sexy beast, huh?" Kevin said, a little bit later when the need for breathing necessitated them to draw apart.

Gwen blushed, but she did not let Kevin get the upper hand. "I thought you hated pop songs," she remarked casually, picking up the box of cupcakes on the table beside the couch.

"I do," Kevin said, quickly. "Hey, you brought me cupcakes? What flavor?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow; a simple action that demanded Kevin for more explanation and to quit changing the subject.

"I could not help it?"

Another perfect eyebrow arched.

"I could not get the song out of my head for two days! Two days, Gwen! Do you know what that is like? Figured the only way I was going to flush it from my system is if I sort of –overdosed on it…"

Another arch.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the solution I could think of! I ordered a copy of the single from the Internet…"

The eyebrow rose again.

"C'mon, Gwen! You know I can't walk into the record store and buy this kind of music! I got my reputation to think of!"

Gwen was silent for a moment. Then, she finally said, "Okay."

"Really?"

Gwen nodded. "Of course," she said. "Here, have a cupcake." She opened the box to let him chose a cake.

"Really?"

"On second thought," Gwen let the lid of the box drop.

"I knew it," Kevin muttered under his breath.

"You didn't think I'll let you off the hook so easily, did you?" Gwen asked, a sly smile on her lips.

"No, not really," Kevin answered, resignedly. But there was no mistaking the twinkle in his eyes. Kevin knew exactly what Gwen had in mind. And he did not mind. Not if it made Gwen laugh. He was, after all, her sexy beast. "You want me to…" he did not have to finish the statement, for Gwen was nodding enthusiastically. "And what do I get in return for my…performance?" His voice was husky as he leaned towards her.

Gwen reached over and pulled Kevin closer to her. One hand snaked into Kevin's dark hair, while another one went behind her back. She pulled him tantalizingly close to her and whispered into his ears, "This." And brought out the hand behind her back to reveal the perfect cupcake she had baked especially for him.

"Orange and poppy seeds?" Kevin's voice was still seductively husky.

"Orange and peach," Gwen corrected him.

"My favourite," Kevin replied, his breath hot on her face.

"Are you just going to talk, Levin?"

"You want it?"

Gwen nodded.

Kevin sighed as he pulled away from her embrace. He stood up in front of her and took out the stereo remote from his pocket.

"Just this once," he told her as the music began.

Gwen settled back for the best pop performance of her lifetime. And Kevin delivered it, never mind the fact he got most of the lyrics wrong. He looked silly doing it, but Gwen loved it that he did it for her.

At the end of the performance, Kevin was rewarded with seven cupcakes, with the promise of more, and kiss that made the both of them believe breathing was over-rated.

Standing outside the window of the garage's office, Ben Tennyson was replaying the Levin Dance on his cell phone. He was smiling.

It was wonderful to have this sort of leverage over the toughest guy in town. Life just got little more interesting for Ben Tennyson.

+++++THE END+++++


End file.
